Hall of Fame voting and WWII

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by conor912

All else being equal, had the Red Sox of the 40s won at least one ring, I think Dom would be in. Hard to make a case for Rizutto being in and not Dom other than the championships, IMO.

Rizzuto is one of the worst players in the HOF does that mean we compound the mistake?

[conor912]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

Rizzuto is one of the worst players in the HOF does that mean we compound the mistake?

You could choose to look at it that way, absolutely. But it doesn’t change the fact that we’re talking about two (arguably) equal players and one of them is in and one isn’t.

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

Rizzuto is one of the worst players in the HOF does that mean we compound the mistake?

Hey Scott

Ole buddy....you cannot talk like that about my neighbor, Rizzuto. I grew up living only two blocks away from him in Hillside, NJ.

I personally knew him for many years, and you couldn't meet a nicer, friendlier person. OK, all that does not get him in the HOF.

But, another Ted said it the best. In 1984, I met Ted Williams up in Cooperstown. We had a tremendous conversation for about
an hour (actually, I did most of the listening). I told him when I was a kid, I rooted for him to hit HR's in the upper RF stands at
Yankee Stadium. He was somewhat confused, since earlier I had told Ted I was a YANKEES fan, because Rizzuto was my nearby
neighbor.
Why did I root for Ted, because as a 10-year old kid, I liked him since his name was "Theodore". Furthermore, I told him that....
"at the end of the season I knew the YANKEES would be the Champions".

Ted cracked up laughing....but then he got real serious and told me...."if Rizzuto was playing for the Red Sox in those days, they
would have been the Champions". He went on to explain this......Rizzuto was the best Lead-Off player he had ever seen. Rizzuto
would get a Hit, or Bunt, or Walk (or even get hit by a pitch). Then Steal 2nd Base, and eventually score. Ted emphasized an old
axiom in BB which says if a Lead-Off batter gets on 1st base, he will score a Run 3 out of every 4 times.

When Ted Williams was on the HOF Veterans Committee he was very instrumental in getting Rizzuto into the HOF.


Take care, my friend.


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by tedzan

Hey Scott

Ole buddy....you cannot talk like that about my neighbor, Rizzuto. I grew up living only two blocks away from him in Hillside, NJ.

I personally knew him for many years, and you couldn't meet a nicer, friendlier person. OK, all that does not get him in the HOF.

But, another Ted said it the best. In 1984, I met Ted Williams up in Cooperstown. We had a tremendous conversation for about
an hour (actually, I did most of the listening). I told him when I was a kid, I rooted for him to hit HR's in the upper RF stands at
Yankee Stadium. He was somewhat confused, since earlier I had told Ted I was a YANKEES fan, because Rizzuto was my nearby
neighbor.
Why did I root for Ted, because as a 10-year old kid, I liked him since his name was "Theodore". Furthermore, I told him that....
"at the end of the season I knew the YANKEES would be the Champions".

Ted cracked up laughing....but then he got real serious and told me...."if Rizzuto was playing for the Red Sox in those days, they
would have been the Champions". He went on to explain this......Rizzuto was the best Lead-Off player he had ever seen. Rizzuto
would get a Hit, or Bunt, or Walk (or even get hit by a pitch). Then Steal 2nd Base, and eventually score. Ted emphasized an old
axiom in BB which says if a Lead-Off batter gets on 1st base, he will score a Run 3 out of every 4 times.

When Ted Williams was on the HOF Veterans Committee he was very instrumental in getting Rizzuto into the HOF.


Take care, my friend.


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

Sorry Ted, but the other Ted was notorious for wanting EVERYONE in the hall of fame with him. I'd value the opinion of a LOT of people more than Williams. Frankly I'd take your word over Ted's lol. For my money Alvin Dark belongs in the Hall before Phil. Phil was a plus defender (but no Ozzie Smith, or even Pee Wee Reese) and only had one exceptional offensive season and several above average. Even if you give him his war years back he barely would've cleared 2000 hits.

I'm definitely one of those guys who wishes the Hall was more exclusive. Rizzuto was a very good player with flashes of greatness, but if he had played in Cleveland he wouldn't be in the Hall.

Unlike some other people here though I can agree to cordially disagree!

Happy Holidays!